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In 1997, around one in 10 local authority areas were 'out of reach' for housing, with average prices more than five times local salaries, but the number of those areas has increased eightfold, said the report.

The top five least affordable areas of the country are in London, with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea having average house prices more than 30 times the average local salary.

Elmbridge in Surrey is the least affordable area outside London with an affordability ratio of 14.3, said the report.

The London borough of Kensington and Chelsea is the least affordable place to live in Britain, the report found

MOST AFFORDABLE BOROUGHS

Ratio of house prices to average earnings

Copeland, Cumbria - Average home 2.87 times average salary

Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria - 3.04

Burnley, Lancashire - 3.28

Hyndburn, Lancashire - 3.50

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire - 3.57

LEAST AFFORDABLE BOROUGHS

Ratio of house prices to average earnings

Kensington and Chelsea, London - Average home 32 times average salary

Westminster, London - 20

Hammersmith and Fulham, London - 16

Camden, London - 15

Richmond upon Thames, London - 15

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: 'London always comes out top when it comes to horror stories about ludicrously over-priced housing.

'But the toxic combination of rising property prices and falling real wages has meant that local housing affordability remains a huge problem for millions of people across the country.

'Houses and flats in traditionally affordable areas of the country - from Kirklees to Great Yarmouth and Plymouth to Oldham - are now out of reach for many local people.

'We need an ambitious programme of home-building to get house prices back under control.

Barrow-in-Furness, also in Cumbria has the second most affordable homes - three times the average salary

Oldham, Greater Manchester is one of the many places where houses are no longer affordable, the TUC say

'At the same time, the growing number of people who have no hope or desire to buy a property any time soon but are still being clobbered by soaring rents need a better deal too.

'But housing affordability isn't just about house prices, decent wages are just as important and there is a lot of ground to make up before we return to the kind of salaries that people were earning before the crash.'

LOCAL AUTHORITIES WHERE STUDY FOUND PRICES HAVE MOVED FROM 'AFFORDABLE' TO 'OUT OF REACH'

Change in ratio of house price to average earnings from 1997 - 2013

Oldham, Greater Manchester - 2.73 - 5.00

Rotherham, South Yorkshire - 2.78 - 5.00

Great Yarmouth, Norfolk - 2.80 - 5.01

Bury, Greater Manchester - 2.98 - 5.02

Barking and Dagenham, London - 2.99 - 5.05

Gill Payne, from the National Housing Federation, commented: 'This analysis shows how it's not just London that is feeling the crippling effects of the housing crisis, with costs spiralling well beyond the reach of local people.

'As our new research shows, eight in 10 parents are worried about how rising house prices will affect the next generation and don't believe that the mainstream political parties are effectively dealing with the issue of housing.

'With so many now locked out of home ownership and struggling with rents, we need action to be taken to end the housing crisis within a generation to ensure the situation doesn't continue to worsen.'